Brian Brown, 58, diligently saves Nectar points he earns every time he shops at Sainsbury’s or on eBay.
Over the past 14 years he has managed to amass more than 96,000 by spotting promotional deals that can give him as much as 500 in one go.
The civil servant uses the points to fill up his car each time he visits his family more than 200 miles away in South Wales.
The Nectar points knock £100 off his fuel bill when he makes the journey two to three times every year.
Loyal customer: Brian Brown had years’ worth of points disappear from his Nectar account
But, a few weeks ago, on June 24, he logged into his account to find that 92,000 points – worth £460 – had disappeared.
The activity history on his account showed Brian’s hard-earned points had been spent in a Sainsbury’s store in Wolverhampton – a city he has never visited, more than 100 miles from his Wakefield address.
Brian changed his password immediately and reported the missing points to Nectar the next morning. Nectar cancelled his account and said it would transfer all 96,000 points to a new card.
Brian, who asked for his name to be changed, says: ‘I was in utter shock. How did someone get hold of the card number? What other details did they get from my account?’
He believes security measures should be in place for customers to redeem a high number of points.
‘If I was spending that amount on my credit card, my phone would prompt me to confirm the purchase,’ he says.
Several readers have written to Money Mail in the past two months with similar accounts of missing Nectar points as Brian.
One reader told Money Mail she had £50 worth of points disappear from her account between February and April.
Another lost £100 in points after they were redeemed in a different county to where she lived.
A quick search on social media websites suggests that dozens more have seen their points vanish in the past month.
Around 18 million people hold a Nectar account, which allows you to collect points as you shop in stores such as Argos, eBay and Sainsbury’s that can then be used to buy items at these and other selected retailers.
In Sainsbury’s, a Nectar card also allows shoppers to access Nectar Prices, which are discounts on popular groceries.
C ustomers typically earn one point for every £1 spent, with some exceptions. Each point is worth 0.5 pence, so customers usually need to spend £200 to get £1 worth of Nectar points.
It’s unclear how the points disappear from shoppers’ accounts – whether they are spent by thieves or something else is going on.
Technology expert David McClelland has previously said Nectar cards could be cloned by fraudsters who fake a copy of a customer’s card.
Vanishing points: Several readers have written in over the past two months with stories of how their prized Nectar points had disappeared
However, shoppers don’t need their physical card to collect and redeem Nectar points – they can also use the app when in-store or an online account if shopping on a website.
This means that if fraudsters know your log-in details for your online account or app, they don’t need to possess the physical card to gain access to points.
Nectar’s response sheds no light on why these points are disappearing or how they are being used. A spokesman says he cannot go into detail about the fraud, or share more specific details.
Nectar’s ‘collector rules’, which are available on its website, says it cannot be responsible for any unauthorised use of points.
But a Nectar spokesman says if a customer suspects they’ve been a victim of fraud it will ‘thoroughly investigate’ and they could be refunded their points.
Four weeks ago freelance sports TV director Richard Coventry was celebrating his eldest daughter’s 16th birthday at home in Sheffield when 18,000 Nectar points vanished from his account.
The 47-year-old father of two logged on to his Sainsbury’s Nectar account two days later to find the points, worth £90, had been redeemed in Oldbury, a market town 80 miles away.
‘I contacted Nectar which said the activity looked suspicious so would suspend the account and send another card, but this could take up to ten days,’ he says.
Adam French, an expert at personal finance website NerdWallet, says if points have vanished from your account, you should gather proof of your previous balance and take it to Nectar’s customer service for help.
‘If you suspect they have disappeared due to fraudulent activity, review your account to identify when and how your points have been used.
‘If you discover any unauthorised purchases, contact Nectar and request reimbursement for those transactions.’
Retired police officer Graham Adlem had to act four weeks ago when he discovered 18,000 Nectar points, worth £90, were redeemed in Morecambe, Lancashire, around 230 miles from his home in Fareham, Hampshire.
The 76-year-old logged on to his account to see if points had been uploaded from an Argos shop – but was greeted with a message that read ‘thank you for spending your points’.
He called Nectar, which said it would look into his case straight away, get his points back, and send out a new card.
Graham has received his new card and was given 18,000 goodwill points last week – three weeks after his points originally went missing.
The grandfather-of-four says: ‘The man on the phone was trying to imply it was a systems malfunction. I want to know what’s happened. What’s wrong with their system?’
It’s a question Richard Coventry is asking too.
‘It shouldn’t happen in the first place,’ he says.
‘I want my card back up and running again.’
Richard has now received his new card and the 18,000 points were restored last week. However, he is still missing the points that were left on his account when it was closed.
A Nectar spokesman says: ‘The security of our customer accounts is of the utmost importance and we have a range of measures in place to help us detect, and in many cases prevent, fraud.
‘Fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated and using a range of tactics.
‘While instances of fraud affect a tiny proportion of our 18 million cardholders, if a customer does suspect they’ve been a victim we recommend they contact the Nectar Helpline team, who will thoroughly investigate.
‘In the first instance we review the account to identify any unusual activity, like redemptions completed for items outside of their normal shopping behaviour.
‘If we find this, we would refund the points and if it’s less clear we would investigate further.’
- Let us know if your Nectar points have vanished. Contact l.evans@dailymail.co.uk
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